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Ok...one more thing I'm going to do in the spirit of experimentation, I'm going to do one command line install on linux mint this weekend. That's all, carry on everyone![edit] actually, this will be more fun. I'll try to do a screencast of it and post it so we can all see how i like to overcomplicate things.

-- Which desktop environment you like, even if you want it to perfectly mimic Win7 or OSX!

And exactly which one are you referring to that perfectly mimics the Win7 desktop, including the Windows taskbar in all it's glory? I want that taskbar, it's all I want. I can not be comfortable or productive in any OS that doesn't have a good impersonation of the Windows taskbar that can be configured in the way I am used to using it .

This thread certainly has taken a funny turn!superboyac: I'm looking forward to that screencast. I'm actually curious about how complicated that can get. Have you selected the program yet? That makes all the difference, I guess (especially if you select one that isn't in the repositories). I suggest something simple such as rythmbox (if that's installed already, then try banshee). Then maybe you can try something that is not in the repositories, such as Opera. I'm pretty sure you'll be surprised how the first one is so simple, and YMMV for the second one

app: actually that's a good question, can linux's taskbar be that scary? I don't think it can get that large (why would anyone want it like that? ), but I may be wrong.

Some people hate wading through menus looking for the apps they want to run, hate all the clicking to get to the folders and files they use often. Some people don't like remembering where those files and folders are located. And some people have never used the taskbar any other way. And for some people, the preference may be genetic. (3 generations of my family prefer their taskbar this way)

Yes, it can get that large, at least in Ubuntu. But unfortunately, it doesn't mean more room for more icons. It can only hold the same amount, but the icons resize themselves to be HUGE!

Yeah, that does look like a poor design decision. So, basically, it doesn't wrap to more lines? But if you're really interested in setting it up like that, I'm sure we could find a way somehow to do something similar. I'd say we might have to take a look at KDE instead of gnome, though.

This thread certainly has taken a funny turn!superboyac: I'm looking forward to that screencast. I'm actually curious about how complicated that can get. Have you selected the program yet? That makes all the difference, I guess (especially if you select one that isn't in the repositories). I suggest something simple such as rythmbox (if that's installed already, then try banshee). Then maybe you can try something that is not in the repositories, such as Opera. I'm pretty sure you'll be surprised how the first one is so simple, and YMMV for the second one

app: actually that's a good question, can linux's taskbar be that scary? I don't think it can get that large (why would anyone want it like that? ), but I may be wrong.

No I haven't picked a program. I'm going to do it all in realtime, everything. Just so everyone can see how easy or difficult it will be for me. I was just playing with yawcam, a free webcam software. Very nice!

More recent attempt .. about 3 months back ..I picked up one of those English mag DVDs with about 3 or 4 recent Linux installs. I tried them on 2 different puters. They always got a glitch before the install was finished, sometimes with all sorts of scrolling text junque.

The only thing I remember was that the nature of the glitch varied by the Linux flavor.

Occasionally I try to burn a Linux install myself Then I don't usually get as far as I did with the DVDs above.

The question is too generic. Is Linux a Desktop (aka PC) hobby? That seems to be what you're discussing.

Is it a hobby OS for Fortune 100 Companies? Not hardly. I work for a F-20 company and was the first Linux guy they hired in 2009. By 2010 they decided to start a Unix to Linux migration project and kick out every Unix OS in favor of SuSE Linux. Linux was the first OS to pass internal audit. And we did it our first try. >95% of our business critical apps run on Linux. We have one of (if not the) largest SAP installations in the world, all running on SuSE. We're at 1500+ and growing servers.